STS-93 Mission Specialist Michel Tognini of France, with the Centre
National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), prepares to leave the T-38 jet
aircraft that brought him to KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. He and
other crew members Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby,
and Mission Specialists Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.) and Catherine
G. "Cady" Coleman (Ph.D.) are arriving for pre-launch
activities. Tognini is making his inaugural Shuttle flight. The
primary mission of STS-93 is the release of the Chandra X-ray
Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to
study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the
universe. The new telescope is 20 to 50 times more sensitive than any
previous X-ray telescope and is expected to unlock the secrets of
supernovae, quasars and black holes.
(Photo Release Date: 07/16/1999
)

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